A motor vehicle incident shut lanes on the US-290 HOV corridor at the Old Katy Road exit ramp early Monday, October 12, 2026, around 4:58 AM.
The crash closed multiple lanes during the pre-dawn hours. Responding officers worked to clear the roadway and move disabled vehicles. The exact duration of the closure wasn't immediately available, but crews were on scene addressing the incident.
This stretch of US-290 has become one of the region's most active crash corridors. According to LocalTrafficAccidents.com data, the area around the Old Katy Road exit ramp recorded 65 incidents over the past 30 days—the vast majority classified as major. Over the past 90 days, the location logged 176 total incidents, with 159 rated major severity. Since January 2020, Texas Department of Transportation crash records show 1,223 crashes within about a quarter-mile of this corridor, including 6 fatalities.
While the busiest hour for crashes here is between 6 and 7 PM, incidents occur throughout the day and night. Wednesdays have historically seen the highest incident count, with 28 crashes recorded over the past 90 days, though crashes scatter across all days of the week rather than clustering in a single time window.
Contributing factors as recorded by the investigating officer, per TxDOT CRIS, show "Failed To Control Speed" as the leading factor, cited in 397 crashes at this corridor. Hit-and-run incidents account for 14.5 percent of crashes here—360 of 2,479 vehicle units involved—a rate well above typical corridor patterns.
Monday morning conditions were clear, with few clouds and a temperature of 78 degrees at the time of the incident.
Drivers heading westbound on US-290 during the early morning should expect delays or lane restrictions in this area. Check real-time traffic updates before heading out, and consider alternate routes if available.
Update (1:00 PM CT): The major crash at US290HOV-OLD KATY RD US 290 HOV at OLD KATY EXIT RAMP, first reported at 4:58 AM, has cleared after more than 8 hours. All lanes have reopened and normal traffic flow has resumed in the area.
Sources: TxDOT Crash Records Information System and Local Traffic Accidents database. Counts through October 12, 2026.
US290HOV-OLD KATY RD US 290 HOV @ OLD KATY EXIT RAMP
Harris County, Texas
This report was produced by LTA's editor-designed production system under the executive editorial direction of Dennis R. Mundy, Executive Editor. The system combines our proprietary data pipeline with AI-assisted drafting to deliver verified incident coverage to LTA's editorial standards.